How To Make McDonald's Egg McMuffin At Home Slideshow

1. The Setup

Ingredients. There's nothing fancy here in the way of ingredients — just a store-bought English muffin; a slice of Canadian bacon; some olive oil, vegetable oil, or cooking spray; water; about a tablespoon of butter; and a slice of American cheese that looks an awful lot like a Kraft single, but you didn't hear it from us. And an egg, of course.

Equipment. Again, pretty simple. You'll want a nonstick pan with a lid (or another nonstick pan that's the same size), a heatproof spatula, a paring knife, a cutting board, a pastry brush (if you're not using cooking spray), and a ring mold* about the same size as the English muffin (you'll see why later).

* Ring molds are available at most culinary supply stores and are priced at around $6-$10. 

2. Toast the Muffin

Pop them into the toaster, set the toastiness dial you way you like, and forget about them.

3. Trace the Ham

Ever wonder how McDonald's gets the ham perfectly round? They don't start with round slices of ham. Place the ring mold on the slice of ham and carefully trace around the outside with a paring knife.

4. Brush the Mold

Now we're going to use the mold again to get a perfectly round cooked egg. But first, you'll want to brush the inside of the ring with oil using the pastry brush, or give it a spritz of cooking spray. This will keep the egg from sticking to the mold as it cooks.

5. Crack the Egg

Coat the pan lightly with vegetable oil using the pastry brush or cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. When hot, place the ring mold in the center and crack the egg into the pan. Break the yolk using the edge of a cracked shell.

6. Just Add Water

Here's how McDonald's gets the egg nice and fluffy: Add a bit of water to the pan outside of the ring mold.

7. Cover with a Lid

Then, cover with a lid to create steam as the egg cooks. If you don't have a lid but happen to have another pan that's about the same size, that works, too.

8. Nice Simmer

Don't check constantly, but it's OK to take a peek once the water heats up to make sure that the egg is cooking properly. It should look something like this.

9. Butter the Muffins

By now, the muffins should be done. Butter them up!

10. It Should Look Like This

When the egg is done, most of the water should have evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat.

11. Trace the Egg

The egg should pop out easily, but if it doesn't, carefully take a paring knife and trace around the inside of the mold.

12. Cook the Ham

Wipe out the pan, place back over the heat, and add the ham just to warm through.

13. Cheese First

Take the heel of the English muffin (the technical term for the flat bottom of any bun) and place the cheese on top.

14. Egg Next

Next, use the spatula to put the egg on top of the cheese.

15. Ham Last

The ham should be about ready by now; add it on top and top with the crown of the muffin.

16. Voilà!

You're done! Devour and enjoy.

If you'd like to see all of this in printable format, click here to see the McDonald's Egg McMuffin Recipe.

Click here to see the step-by-step video from McDonald's Corp.